Mount Longonot National Park

Mount Longonot National Park in Nakuru County is one of the 23 famous game parks in the East African country of Kenya. The park is within the Great Rift Valley and it comprises of the famous volcano, mount Longonot, the mountain’s crater, a small ecological forest, several wildlife, and bird species.

Mount Longonot National Park gets its name from mount Longonot, which is the most popular attraction in the park. Longonot is a Maasai word that means “mountain of many steep ridges.”

Mount Longonot is a stratovolcano that last erupted in the 1860s is currently a spectacular piece of art with lava flow rocks around the mountain formed from earlier lava eruptions of the mountain. Mount Longonot rises 2776m above sea level on the Great Rift Valley floor 2776m and has a large caldera on the top from its numerous trachytic lava eruptions in the past

Mount Longonot National Park sits on an area of 52 km2 that on top of housing the famous mount Longonot, mount Longonot National park is an ecological wonder, it has small valleys on the mountainsides, lava rocks, a thick small forest with the mountain crater and it is home to several birds and animals. The birds in the park include Blacksmith Plover, Hildebrandt’s Francolin, Black Cuckoo, Levaillant’s Cuckoo, African Cuckoo and others well as the animals in the park include elands, bushbucks, gazelles, zebras, Impalas, hartebeests, buffaloes and others

People that visit Mount Longonot National Park have great opportunities to engage in several adventurous and refreshing activities that include:-

Hiking Mount longonot: An adventurous climb up the stratovolcano up the peak and the amazing crater.
Sightseeing: Up the peak and the crater enjoy beautiful views of Lake Naivasha, the small forest and the Nakuru surroundings. See several birds and animals and many other park features while you are up there.
Picnicking: have a picnic at the crater as you enjoy the mountain breeze, ambience and amazing views
Game viewing: Take a drive, a ride or a walk through the park to explore the different animals that stay in the park.
Bird viewing: explore the several bird species in the park on different birding excursions.
Nature walk: Take walks in the park to refresh and revitalise yourself as you enjoy different features of the park
Rock climbing: climb lava rocks around the mountain to explore the uniqueness of the mountain further
Biking: Take biking excursions on the rocky areas of the mountain and around the park for an adventure and fun experience
Camping: Spend a night under the sky inside the crater as you continue to enjoy the uniqueness of the crater and its surrounding.

These activities and many more are what you will enjoy in Mt Longonot National Park. The park is open all through the year and though it’s not very popular, it receives more guests during the dry season than in any other season.

Visitors to the park that though the mount has a reasonably high altitude, the park and the mountain can get really hot so visitors should carry some sunscreen for their visit to the park. Also if you are a guest at the park, utilise the morning hours to do the activities in the park; the weather in the morning is friendlier.

Mt Longonot national park is about 90km from Nairobi city, Kenya’s capital and its take a 2 to 3 hours to drive up to the park from Nairobi city. The park is located on the southeastern side of Lake Naivasha. By air you can access the park from Naivasha airstrip; you fly from Nairobi to the airstrip and then drive to the park.

Mount Longonot National Park is protected and managed by Kenya Wildlife Services and the park entrances fees are 30 USD for Foreigners and 500 KSHS for Locals and Residents. Entrance fees are valid for 24 hours only.